The report in the Sunday Telegraph claimed that Liberata, and three private equity firms – Montague Private Equity, Bridgepoint Capital and 3i – had all made it through to the second round of the auction, though all bids are so far thought to be less than the 400m pounds ($752m) asking price.
Although the report claims that Liberata, rather than its owner General Atlantic, is bidding for Vertex, such an acquisition would be a major financial stretch. For the six months to the end of February 2006, it broke even on revenues of 116.5m pounds ($219m), and had 10m pounds ($19m) in cash. It would require significant financing to fund a bid.
Liberata did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about the Vertex auction earlier this month CEO Robert Gogel told Computer Business Review only that he had heard numerous rumors, and that the UK BPO market was heading for a period of major consolidation.
Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest IT services firm, was in talks to buy Vertex earlier in the summer, but talks broke down on price. It may still be in the running, especially if the report of the level of bids is accurate. TCS’ rival Infosys has gone on the record as saying it is not interested in the deal.
